SW Ohio Democrats to choose new House candidate

Published: August 12, 2012 11:21 AM

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Democrats in Montgomery County planned Sunday to come up with a replacement candidate for an Ohio lawmaker who withdrew from running for re-election.

The county party's central committee scheduled a meeting late Sunday afternoon to replace state Rep. Clayton Luckie on the November ballot. Luckie dropped out Friday, a day after the Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Luckie was under investigation. The prosecutor has said little other than that the probe doesn't involve bribery.

Luckie remains in office. He had been seeking a fourth term.

Whoever is chosen will run against Iraq war veteran and Republican Jeff Wellbaum of Kettering, in the 39th District.

Former Dayton Mayor Rhyne McLin took her name out of consideration for the Democratic slot, the Dayton Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/RJo2N4 ). The former state legislator said she is focused on running for Dayton city commission next year.

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Former state legislator Fred Strahorn was also mentioned as a possible candidate. The Ohio Demcratic Party adviser said he was interested in running for the seat.

And Mark Owens, the county party chairman, said retired Army officer Vic Harris had also expressed interested.

The House district includes much of Dayton.

Luckie issued a statement Thursday underscoring that the investigation isn't related to bribery, but to "errors on some reports that are currently being addressed."

He did not say what types of reports had errors.

"I take these matters very seriously and have instructed my team to conduct a full review of the reports in question," he said. "Out of respect for the process, I will not be addressing any questions until my team has completed their analysis."

Before becoming a state representative, Luckie was on the Dayton Public School Board from 1996 to 2006.

He serves on the powerful state controlling board, which oversees capital and operating expenditures by Ohio agencies and has authority to approve or vote down any other state financial activities. Luckie also serves on the education and insurance committees.